Stories written on teeth: High-resolution analysis of dietary traits in extant and extinct ungulates

Dental mesowear and microwear analyses are among the most informative tools for reconstructing the diets of extant and extinct vertebrates, offering a window into the dietary behaviors and environmental interactions that shaped evolutionary history. Mesowear nalysis captures the gross wear patterns on tooth surfaces, which form over longer periods−typically months to years−and provide insights into the cumulative dietary habits of a species.